


Revenge

by deniallisstrong



Series: Ziam Tumblr Drabbles (ifigureditout) [5]
Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: M/M, Meet-Cute, pizza delivery au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-25
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-18 02:22:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7295719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deniallisstrong/pseuds/deniallisstrong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Zayn the delivery boy drops off a pizza to just-been-cheated-on Liam--and one of them may just have an idea of how to get back at him</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The hardest part about being a delivery guy, Zayn thinks, is he never knows what he’s getting himself into until it’s too late and he’s standing at some rickety door, trying to fight off a feisty, old drunk who mistakes him for a cop.

Still, that would be better than this, Zayn decides as he steps up onto the porch of the quaint home, lined with shrubs and a few too many lawn decorations. Because he can taste the steak before he smells it. And in his experience, smelling food while you’re supposed to be _delivering_ it is never a good sign.

Ringing the doorbell, he swears under his breath, stiffening his posture but keeping his head down as the sound of socked footsteps come nearer.

“Pizza?” The voice says incredulously as the door opens. “I didn’t order any—“

In a huff, Zayn interrupts, eyes still trained on the pizza box as he pulls it out of its zipped pocket. “Look, I don’t care if some kid down the street prank called the pizza for you…” His breath stops and any hint of anger evaporates suddenly when he glances up at the boy. 

Finding his worried, chocolate brown eyes, Zayn’s eyes travel down the other boy’s face, the little frown looking a bit out of place but accenting his sharp, bearded jaw. And Zayn can’t remember what he’s upset about any longer, can only stare longer than necessary. Seconds pass as he notes every feature on the boy. Finding the birthmark on his neck with a little smile, he’s only brought out of his haze by the slow sting of the hot pizza beginning to burn his palm through the box.

Glancing down at the receipt with a sheepish grin, Zayn clears his throat. Taking in a sharp breath after reading the words, he mutters, “It’s actually paid for.” He sounds puzzled, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. Zayn watches as confusion flashes across the other boy’s face, but continues on when he doesn’t say anything. “Uhh,” Zayn pauses, takes a giant gulp as he tries to remember where he’s put his wits—because he knows for sure they aren’t here. “There’s a message for you: ‘Sorry.’”

The man is quiet for a moment, the heavy silence between the two of them growing as he watches Zayn expectantly. Cocking his head to the side, he asks quietly, “What was the message then?”  With a quirk of his eyebrow, he leans in.

“Err,” Zayn stutters. “That _was_ the message. It just says ‘Sorry.’” The man’s look of confusion is quickly replaced by a sigh and an eye roll. He snorts, but doesn’t seem the slightest bit amused. 

“It’s from my, uhh, my ex,” he starts, his eyes glazing over while focusing on the pizza box. “The bastard… err, he cheated on me.” Scuffing his foot against the carpet below him, the man focuses on anything but the delivery boy in front of him.

Zayn can’t help it. His ears ring out against the _he_ in the sentence, gulping as all thoughts halt at the word. He has a chance. Maybe. Shaking his head to clear the ridiculous thought, he swallows hard.

“How?” is all Zayn can get out, not able to take his eyes off the stunning boy. He knows that’s probably not the word that’s supposed to leave his mouth, knows an apology is probably what the man is looking for, but he can’t stop it. Instead, he lets out a little breath, continuing on. “How could anyone ever cheat on _you_?”

The boy smirks, lets out a little chuckle as his eyebrows shoot up. “What is that supposed to mean, mate?”

“You’re, like, a model,” Zayn shrugs matter-of-factly, making sure the other boy catches his eyes wander down the length of his body.

The man seems to ponder this for a moment, the surprise on his face shifting suddenly to something unreadable. “Hey, you know,” he starts slowly, a glint in his eye. “I have a good idea on how to get back at my dick of an ex.”

Air catches in Zayn’s throat at these words, almost choking him. _Shit_. Obviously this guy isn’t over his ex. Just his luck. “What’s that?” Zayn asks lowly as he hastily hands the pizza over to the man, ready to dash out of there before he can make any more of a fool of himself.

“I could go out with the pizza guy that he sent,” the boy winks, the grin enveloping his whole face.

Zayn blinks, feeling his eyes grow twice their size at this. “Well…” Zayn chokes out. He takes a breath out, steadies himself. “That sounds like good revenge to me,” he smirks. 

“It’s a date then, uhh…” Zayn begins, licking his lips as he realizes he’s just accepted a date from a boy he doesn’t even know the name of. Already realizes that he’s in deep.

“Liam,” the man smiles gently with a dip of his head.

“Zayn,” the other boy responds, beaming.

“My place tomorrow at seven then, Zayn?” Liam asks, leaning against his door frame as his hands fidget with the warm box. “I trust you know the way.”

Zayn nods, grinning as he says, “I’ll bring the food.”


	2. Already Been Paid For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Okay, you’re sure you want to do this?” Zayn verifies, ducking his head a bit to catch Liam’s eye. They’re situated in their stakeout location—right outside Ben’s house—the engine to Liam’s car still purring beneath them. Liam shifts in his seat, his hand grasping around the glove box between them, and then nods, his once-pursed lips turning up into a grin.
> 
> “Hand it to me, Z,” Liam requests, holding his hands out to take the two-liter soda bottle from him.
> 
> (Or where this time, Liam’s really going to get back at his cheating ex–-with pizza delivery boy Zayn’s help, of course) [Part 2 of Revenge, a Pizza Delivery AU]

“Li, already getting texts from all your other lovers?” Zayn teases, eyes flickering to the lit-up screen sitting in the cup holder. Liam’s eyes dart over to his phone and then over to Zayn before he glances back at the road, making sure he’s not going to swerve out of his lane. His lips are stretched into a fake smile, but his eyes are dark as he grabs the phone with a jerky motion.

Giving it a quick glance with a barely audible sigh, he shoves the phone between his legs, clearing his throat as he continues to stare straight ahead at the road. “So, the weather is really nice today, huh?” Liam says with a gulp, his eyes panning around the sunny sky in front of him instead of the boy sitting next to him.

“Liam,” Zayn starts quietly, glancing over at him, biting his lip as he tries to read the other boy’s expression. “You know it’s not good to text and drive,” he mumbles. “I can answer it for you,” he offers gently, holding out his hand to take the phone.

Liam shakes his head, just the slightest of motions. “I won’t text with it,” he swears, avoiding the other boy’s eye.

“It’ll be a distraction for you and you know it,” Zayn says, quirking an eyebrow, daring him to continue fighting against it.

Liam may be stubborn, but he isn’t dumb. And as much as he hates it, he knows when Zayn is right.

He lets out a little grumble before slamming the phone down into Zayn’s hand, rolling his eyes for effect as he does so. “You don’t need to resp–” he starts, trailing off as the phone suddenly buzzes again, leaving Zayn’s heart pounding as he glances down. He’s very much afraid of what he’s going to find, judging from Liam’s worried reaction. Letting out a little breath, he sees the name Ben. Come to look at it, Ben’s name is scattered throughout Liam’s various notifications: four texts in the past ten minutes.

“ _Ben_? As in your _cheating ex, Ben_?” Zayn asks, his voice rising. He lets out a little sigh, wills himself to lower his voice before he asks, “He’s _still_ texting you, Li?” He locks the phone and looks up at Liam. “How many texts has he sent you total?”

Liam purses his lips, dazing off at the street ahead as he lets out a little hum, not responding to the question. “It’s been _two weeks_ , Leeyum,” Zayn sighs, a pit in his stomach as the bitter words sink in. Watching Liam’s knuckles turn white from gripping the steering wheel too hard, he continues, “Look, I won’t read the texts.”

“I haven’t messaged him back, Z, I _promise_ ,” Liam mutters, lips downturned into a frown as he combs his fingers through his hair. Finally looking Zayn in the eye, he looks the most upset Zayn’s ever seen him, tears springing up in his eyes as they dart back to the road.

“ _Babe_ ,” Zayn whines, wishing they aren’t mid-drive so he can just put his arm around Liam, pull him tighter, protect him from anything the world tries to throw at him, cheating boyfriends be damned. Instead, his hand finds Liam’s arm, rubbing gently with the back of his hand. “I don’t have even one _ounce_ of worry about that,” he says assuredly. “I trust you,” he smiles, his thumb tracing light circles in his bicep. 

“But I really think…” Zayn starts, clearing his throat as he gives his arm a light squeeze. “You gotta find a way to get it through his thick, _thick_ skull that you aren’t coming back, no matter what.” A glint in his eye, a mischievous grin forms on his face as he turns to Liam. “Then you can finally be at peace about the whole thing,” he rationalizes with a shrug. 

“Oh no,” Liam groans, holding out the last word as his brain flashes through the many possibilities Zayn could have in mind.

“You in, Li?” Zayn smirks, a chuckle leaving his lips. He waits a second before he continues. “Don’t forget the endless texts, the sleepless nights, all the _worrying_ you’ve had to do because of this _arse_ ,” he taunts, shaking Liam’s phone next to his face as a reminder.

Liam ponders this for a moment, and then smiles, “I’m in.” He’s not quite sure what’s he just signed himself up for, but as long as Zayn is involved, he knows he’ll be alright.

\---

“Okay, you’re _sure_ you want to do this?” Zayn verifies, ducking his head a bit to catch Liam’s eye. They’re situated in their stakeout location—right outside Ben’s house—the engine to Liam’s car still purring beneath them. Liam shifts in his seat, his hand grasping around the glove box between them, and then nods, his once-pursed lips turning up into a grin.

“Hand it to me, Z,” Liam requests, holding his hands out to take the two-liter soda bottle from him.

He lets out a little huff as he takes the plastic bottle, shaking his torso and arms to release all the tension that had been building up in his body as they once again went over the plan.

“I’m gonna lose my job for this, aren’t I?” Zayn muses, fidgeting with the hot pizza box on top of his lap as a smile dances on his lips.

“Oh, hell yeah,” Liam replies, not even a hint of doubt in his voice.

“Worth it,” Zayn smirks. “Ready?” Zayn asks as he adjusts the name tag on his uniform. 

“Ready,” Liam replies, forcing himself to open his car door so that he won’t be able to change his mind again.

He picks himself up out of the car, not waiting for Zayn as he jogs to the house. By the time he’s made the short distance there, he’s already out of breath, his heart pounding. _That’s_ a new sensation.

He holds his breath in as he waits a couple of seconds for Zayn to catch up. As Zayn gets close, he gives a long and hard look at Liam, glancing him over for any telltale signs of regret or worry. Finding only acceptable amounts of nervousness, he gives Liam a small nod, waiting until Liam gives him one back before he makes his way up the porch steps.

Positioning himself behind a bush, Liam only lets out a shaky breath as he hears the doorbell ring, poking his head out from around the corner to watch the encounter as much as he’s able to.

“Hey, man, uhh,” Ben starts, and Liam can’t help but notice he looks the same: his long, blonde hair is bunched together–probably still saturated in salt from the ocean–and he seems even taller and fitter in front of Zayn, his arm muscles practically bulging. Basically, he still looks exactly like the asshole surfer he had remembered (and he still sounds like it too). 

He doesn’t even seem like a more depressed, just-lost-his-love version of himself either, as Liam had somewhat hoped he would. (Not that he planned to ever get back with him–but it would have been nice to be missed.)

“I don’t know what you’re doing at my door, pal. But I don’t care what kind of scam this is or how many members of your family you need to feed,” he spits out, waving his hand in dismissal. “But I didn’t order any pizza, dude, so if you think I’m gonna pay for that, you’re dead wrong.” He continues, letting out a low, lifeless snicker that rumbles through Liam’s chest. The man crosses his arms, a scowl forming.

“Don’t worry,” Zayn says in a sicky-sweet voice, his words practically oozing with honey. “It’s already been paid for,” he smiles, his lips way too high up to be a genuine smile.

The other guy grunts and shifts on his feet. He loosens his stance a bit and asks, more quietly this time, a pinch of hope in his voice. “Who’s it from?”

“Oh, well, there’s a message, actually.” Zayn draws out the words, savoring them as they leave his mouth—knowing full well what’s coming next. He pretends to sound confused as he says the next words, tries to sound as innocent as possible. “It says, ‘you better be fucking sorry’.”

Then, before he loses his nerve, and before Ben has too much time to react, Zayn throws open the pizza box, aiming right for the other boy’s face as he chucks the pizza—box and all. He starts to retreat, sniggering as he walks backwards, his eyes transfixed on the little bits of pepperoni and cheese sliding down the other boy’s face.

“What the _fuck_?” Ben yells, his shock quickly shifting to anger as he begins waddling towards Zayn. Since tomato sauce covers most of Ben’s face, he’s only able to see through slits that were once his eyes—thus impairing his ability to deck him in the face, Zayn thinks with relief.

Liam pops out from behind the bush, having waited for the most dramatic entrance possible. Shaking up the soda as much as possible, a jolt of adrenaline rushes through him as he twists the cap.

“You _better be fucking sorry_ ,” Liam repeats, spitting out each word as he tips the bottle upside down, effectively drenching the boy with the two liters of sticky soda. Descending down the stairs backwards, one step at a time, he watches recognition flash over the boy’s face.

“ _Liam_?” The boy cries out, his face scanning between the two of them. “Who the fuck is _he_?” Ben whines, gesturing to Zayn, his voice practically raising an octave.

“I’m his _boyfriend_ ,” Zayn taunts from his place two steps behind Liam. He closes the gap between himself and Ben momentarily, just long enough to jab him hard in the chest as he squints, growling, “And you better fucking stay away from him.”

Liam’s mind is swimming, too many things going on at once, but he could have _swore_ he heard Zayn say _boyfriend._ He gulps, pushing the thought out of his mind as he sees the sudden flash that burns behind Ben’s eyes, recognizing it all too well.

“Run” is all Liam says, tugging on the back of Zayn’s shirt to get his attention.

Liam is giggling, heart pounding in his ears as yelled expletives follow Liam and Zayn all the way to the car. Zayn is close enough behind that Liam can feel the tips of his fingers lightly grazing Liam’s back, Ben at least a foot away from the both of them but still charging. Throwing open the car door, Liam twists the key into the ignition, and—once Zayn has thrown himself into the car—he pushes on the gas petal to get the hell out of there before the two of them seriously hurt themselves.

The ride is quiet for a moment as the two of them attempt to catch their breaths, brains attempting to process what’s just happened.

“Liam,” Zayn says finally, in the smallest voice Liam’s ever heard. Whipping his head around to catch a glance at Zayn, he bites his lip, not sure what’s running through the other boy’s mind.

The gulp that Zayn makes is audible, loud and echoing between the two of them as Liam waits for an inkling of something more to leave Zayn’s mouth. “I didn’t mean to say I was your boyfriend,” Zayn mumbles, eyes on his hands, fluttering in his lap. “I just got caught up in the moment, you know? And it slipped out of my fucking mouth and I know we aren’t, like, official yet and I fucked up and—“ The words are like a train wreck leaving Zayn’s mouth at 50 miles per hour, but like a wreck, he can’t do anything but watch it happen, feeling his throat run dry.

For a moment, Liam is quiet, trying to decide how to react. And that moment stretches on for what feels like years until Liam suddenly jerks the car off to the shoulder of the road. “ _Zayn_ ,” he says forcefully in an attempt to catch his attention. He turns off the engine as he shifts his body to look at the other boy. “Will you _please_ be my boyfriend?”

The words catch Zayn by surprise, his breath catching in his throat as he suddenly can’t remember how to form together words, let alone sentences.

“Like, officially?” Liam continues on—thankfully, because Zayn has no idea what to say, no idea if any of this is really even happening. “’Cause I don’t know who else I would do such a fucking _stupid_ thing with, and I would hope you wouldn’t just do such a fucking stupid thing _for_ a ton of people, either.” 

Instead of responding, Zayn trails his hand along the side of Liam’s jaw, chuckling lowly when he feels a little shiver from Liam. He traces his thumb over Liam’s lips, first the upper one and then the lower one, taking his time, trying to memorize every single divot. “I’m just wanting to make sure this isn’t a dream,” Zayn mumbles, his thumb stopping its movement suddenly. “Because as creative as my brain is, I don’t think it could get your lips quite right,” he mutters, lifting his thumb up suddenly to replace it with his lips, hovering them over Liam’s. 

“Well, then, let’s just prove to your brain how real this is,” Liam mouths against Zayn. “Also, just so you know, I’m taking all of this as a yes,” Liam whispers, pressing his lips against him as Zayn pushes back, nodding as his fingers find their way to Liam’s hair.


End file.
